Smoke in the Cross Timbers

"Fire in the Cross Timbers"

This lesson from the "Fire in the Cross Timbers" curriculum is available with permission from The Oak Woodlands and Forests Fire Consortium.

In this activity, students use a geographic information system [GIS] model (VSmoke-Web) to map the extent of smoke impacts from a chosen prescribed fire case study. Students will decide if the burn should be conducted with the conditions presented in the case study. Students will discuss ways in which smoke impacts could be eliminated or mitigated.

Follow the steps below (1-8) to complete this activity.

Step 1: Open the "Smoke in the Cross Timbers" student worksheet (Google Document). Make a copy of this Google document that will be submitted using a Google form when the activity has been completed (Step 8).

Step 2: Go through the slideshow below. Complete "Part A" and "Part B" of the student worksheet using information provided by the slideshow.

Smoke - Slideshow

Step 3: Following the instructions on the student worksheet, choose an "Orange" case study to simulate from the map below. In "Part C" of the student worksheet, enter the name of the case study and make "map observations" according to the instructions (The "Green" case study was discussed in the slideshow.)

Step 4: Use the links below to visit the "Fire & Weather Info" table for the case study chosen in Step 3. Record the case study information in the corresponding table on the student worksheet.

Tallgrass Prairie Preserve (The Nature Conservancy)

Cross Timbers Experimental Range (Oklahoma State University)

Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve (The Frank Phillips Foundation)

Ranch Burn (Multiple Landowners)

Step 5: Run the VSmoke-Web simulation by inputting the "Fire & Weather Info" for the chosen case study. After the simulation has been completed, take a "screenshot" of resulting smoke plume map. Insert the map in the location indicated in "Part C" of the student worksheet.

VSmoke-Web

GIS Simulator for Predicting Smoke AQI Impacts

VSmoke-Web Demonstration

Video Demonstrating How to Enter Case Study Parameters and to Run the Simulator (JenksFERST Case Study Used)

Step 6: Respond to the prompts in "Part D" of the student worksheet. To assist with responses, refer to the slideshow, "Part A" and "Part B" of the student worksheet, and the air quality index information below.

Air Quality Index [AQI] (airnow.gov)

The Air Quality Index [AQI] is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health. Ground-level ozone and airborne particles are the two pollutants that pose the greatest threat to human health in this country (airnow.gov).

Step 7: Turkey Mountain Smoke Management Plan ("Part E" on the student worksheet)

Background Information - Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area

The Tulsa Parks Authority has developed ecological management goals for the Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area, a Cross Timbers remnant. These goals include restoring ecosystem diversity and improving aesthetic appeal by increasing "openness" in wooded areas and by eliminating accumulated vegetative debris. Burn plans have been developed to reintroduce fire as a natural disturbance into the park to assist with meeting management goals.

Specific burn objectives for Turkey Mountain include:

Conduct prescribed fire operations with specific attention to incident and public safety through clear communication and utilization of best smoke management practices.
Reduce leaf litter and dead/dormant surface level fuel loading by approximately 75%.
Inflict overall stem mortality within the size classes as follows: <2" - 25-50%; 2"-3" - 50%; and >3" - 15%.
Consume 100 and 1,000 hour fuels completely where feasible.

"Burn Unit 13", shown in the map below, has an area of approximately 10 acres....